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Kelly Townsend
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 16th district
In office January 11, 2021 – January 9, 2023
Preceded by	Dave Farnsworth
Succeeded by	T. J. Shope
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 16th district
In office January 14, 2013 – January 11, 2021
Preceded by	redistricted
Succeeded by	Jacqueline Parker
Personal details
Born	(1968-09-27) September 27, 1968 (age 56) United States
Political party	Republican
Residence	Apache Junction, Arizona
Alma mater	Southern Oregon University (BS)
Website	www.kellytownsend.com

Kelly Townsend (born September 27, 1968) is an American Republican politician. She was a member of the Arizona Senate representing District 16 from 2021 to 2023, and previously was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, acting as Majority Whip from 2017 to 2018.

Early years

Townsend grew up in Oregon and served in the United States Navy as an aircraft mechanic. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and small business from Southern Oregon University.

Political career and electoral history

Greater Phoenix Tea Party

In 2010 Townsend was a member of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. She first ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in a six-way Republican primary in District 22, placing fourth with 5,446 votes; The next year she campaigned for legislation requiring proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for ballot access. The legislation was passed by the Arizona State Legislature but vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer. In 2012 she was one of four candidates in District 16 for the Republican House of Representatives primary, placing first with 9,298 votes. She won the second seat in the five-way general election with 40,720 votes against Democratic nominee Matthew Cerra, Arizona Green Party candidate Bill Maher, and Democratic write-in candidate Cara Prior.

Oathkeeper Association and Attendance at the Bundy Ranch Standoff

Townsend has been a longstanding member of the Oatkeepers. She led a caravan of fellow lawmakers to Bundy Ranch and held a press conference condemning Federal overreach attending the standoff between the FBI and Cliven Bundy in a fight over land rights. Oathkeeper Stewart Rhodes convicted for seditious conspiracy for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and Oathkeeper and leader of the Constitutional Sheriff and Police Officers Association Sheriff Richard Mack, organized the standoff in support of the Bundy family Townsend, a longstanding anti-government activist and associate of Rhodes, condemned the FBI for their actions in the shooting death of Roy Finicum. In 2020, Townsend was openly a member of the Arizona State Militia group, a group who called themselves the Praetorian Guard. In 2014, this uniformed and armed group reportedly scared and intimidated Federal law enforcement at the Bundy Ranch standoff.

QAnon Affiliation and Veiled Threat Toward Arizona's Governor following the 2020 Election

In June 2020, Townsend posted a QAnon video with a flaming "Q" to her social media and follows high-profile QAnon accounts. Some local Arizona politics reporters have referred to Townsend as the QAnon Queen of the Legislature.

On December 9, 2020, after Townsend alleged the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, she posted a religious statement that was viewed by many as a veiled threat to the Governor's life.

Attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election

In 2010, Townsend led a Tea Party meeting in which she invited Russian-born attorney Orly Taitz to present on Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, and "rigged" voting machines, while Townsend herself taught on the social psychology of misinformation and Obama birther theories. In 2020, attorney Sidney Powell, listed Townsend as a witness in her Arizona election challenge lawsuit filings, pushing identical theories about Chavez and voting and rigged voting machines that Townsend promoted over a decade earlier when she led the Tea Party.

In 2011, Townsend met with former President Donald Trump before he decided to run for office, to discuss her Obama birther conspiracies. During her meeting with Trump, Townsend invited him to Arizona to meet her Tea Party group, letting him know that he would find a friendly audience within the group.

In April 2019, Townsend visited the Mexico-United States border with Arizona Patriot Movement of Arizona group leader Jennifer Harrison who published a video of the border visit on their social media page before she was banned from the House by Rusty Bowers for engaging in unwanted surveillance and harassment of Townsend's colleagues. In the video of the groups border visit, Townsend said her main concern was migrants arriving were registering to vote in federal elections. Afterward, Townsend also published a separate video to her social media, anticipating voter fraud in the 2020 election alleging hundreds of noncitizen voters were coming into her district and others to vote illegally.

In September 2019, Townsend publicly reported that she planned to meet with President Trump's lawyers at the White House to discuss concerns that she anticipated both foreign interference by noncitizen voters she predicted may attempt to steal the then upcoming 2020 election.

By late 2019, Townsend established the election integrity unit at the Arizona Attorney Generals' office, directed by Jennifer Wright, a lawyer who previously worked for True the Vote's Gregg Phillips (research contributor to the election conspiracy film 2000 Mules) at True the Vote. The day after Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani presented witnesses that included Liz Harris, Bobby Piton, and Linda Brickman, to legislators including Townsend, Sonny Borelli, David Cook, Mark Finchem, Steve Montenegro, among others. Townsend requested the Attorney General's office election integrity unit she created in 2019, staffed by General Mike Flynn and Sidney Powell's former colleague attorney Jennifer Wright, to investigate all allegations presented by Guiliani.

In February 2020, Townsend sponsored a bill to restrict anyone from voting with the assistance of a translator unless the person had a disability, claiming she was combatting what she believed was potential for election fraud. When activists protested stated the bill was motivated by racial animosity, Townsend removed the leader of the activist group from the hearing and shut down public commentary alleging the group was impugning the motives of legislators when they alleged the bill was a form of race-based voter suppression.

Also in February 2020, Townsend proposed legislation for a voter fraud hotline predicting possible foreign interference or meddling in the then upcoming 2020 election. Her bill also expanded law enforcement powers allowing law enforcement or agents of the Attorney Generals office election integrity unit which Townsend established the year prior in 2019, to enter a polling place during the vote count to investigate voter fraud.

Following the 2020 election, Townsend was one of the most outspoken and vocal Stop the Steal supporters of election fraud theories, speaking at "Stop the Steal" movement rallies, advocating the independent state legislature theory and petitioning the United States Congress to accept 11 “alternate” presidential electors pledged to vote for Donald Trump or to nullify Arizona's electoral votes pending an audit. In November 2020, Townsend shared the stage with Oathkeeper leader former Sheriff Richard Mack and the QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley and publicly posted a selfie video telling the Maricopa County Board of Supervisor Steve Chucri that she was "just getting started."

Townsend went on to lead her supporters in criticism of House Speaker Rusty Bowers for his refusal to allow her and her colleagues to call a formal legislative session to recall the State's electors. Townsend wanted a hearing to exercise her subpoena power as House Elections Chair to access voting machines, but House leader Bowers blocked her efforts.

After Bowers refused and Townsend was unable to change his mind despite applying pressure from her grassroots support, Townsend and Mark Finchem organized and participated in a quasi-official legislative hearing put on with former President Trump's attorneys at a hotel in Phoenix.

On November 4, 2020, outside the Capitol, immediately following the election, Townsend encouraged the agitated crowd of several hundred people to collect affidavits and proof of election fraud "vigilante style." Marko Trickovic, who had been Townsend's voluntary security detail throughout 2020 as she spoke at rallies and then leader of the Arizona militia group Three Percenters, obliged and published to his social media a video of a woman claiming her vote was not counted due to the voting center requiring the use of Sharpies. Fellow legislator Alex Kolodin, and attorney who represented the Cyber Ninjas firm in the 2020 audit and served as local counsel for Sidney Powell's election fraud lawsuit, which Townsend was listed as a witness, also filed a separate case alleging Sharpies affected the outcome of the 2020 election. On November 4, 2020, after Trickovic published his video of a woman speaking at the polling place about her being forced to use sharpies, Townsend took to her social media asking others with Sharpie experiences to come forward. After Trump Team's Sharpie lawsuit was dismissed as meritless, Townsend introduced legislation to restrict the use of Sharpie brand markers to mark ballots

Days after the 2020 election, Townsend feuded publicly on Twitter and asked for the resignation of the Maricopa County GOP Chairperson for not being present during pre-election voting machine certification amidst unfounded allegations that Dominion machines switched votes, while also seeking a forensic audit to access machines.

On December 4, 2020, when Townsend insisted the State send alternate electors as part of a bid to overturn the election, Bowers rejected such a proposal. Townsend alleged Bowers did not understand constitutional law, and was quoted as tweeting, "It is imperative that Arizona's legislators use our Article 2 power and choose the electors after everything we have seen here," Townsend wrote on Twitter in the afternoon. "I do not want to go down in history as doing nothing about it."

On or around December 11, 2020, just a couple of days after Townsend's social media post as a veiled threat toward the Arizona Governor, Townsend reportedly expressed concern to Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani that unless they had a pending legal case, their attempts to promote the alternate elector scheme might appear treasonous.

Townsend proposed legislation to establish mandatory criminal procedures for allegations of election fraud pertaining to mailed ballots as well as election worker misconduct. She also made public demands for law enforcement investigations of election workers, including for simple mistakes. She supported legislation that would require voters in Arizona who vote by mail to include identification paperwork along with their ballots. In 2018, she posited pipe bombs were a Democrat plot related to the upcoming election. Following the 2020 election, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed he relied on information about noncitizen voters he received from Townsend. Before the ballot count was finalized, Townsend asked for the resignation of the Maricopa County Republican Party chair, Rae Chornenky, alleging her inaction by not being present for the count “contributed to the collapse of Arizona voter confidence.”

The day before the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Townsend sponsored a bill to recall Arizona's electors that had been allocated to Biden and replace them with Trump electors.

On January 6, 2021, while at the Ellipse giving his speech, then President Trump quoted a number of non citizen voters in Arizona from a meme posted to her social media, but the meme did not say all 36K non-citizen voters were illegal voters, just that they could or might be voting illegally.

In February 2021, after a vote to arrest the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors failed, Townsend mentioned the public was lathered up over the election and they should be arresting the BOS, but since the Senate was one vote short, she said, "public, do what you gotta do."

Townsend continued to work with Trump lawyers including Sidney Powell as her group sponsored and funded the Arizona audit. Following the audit, Townsend said the fraud was so bad "I want to see indictments."

In April 2021, Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita alleges she was targeted after Townsend encouraged her supporters and a reporter to follow and harass her because she lost faith in the audit after the process began and wanted to pass election integrity bills before the audit was completed. The dispute between Ugenti-Rita and Townsend and targeted harassment centered around a package of election integrity reforms that Ugenti-Rita and Townsend's GOP colleagues proposed that Townsend also claimed to support. </ref> Townsend said she fought for years to get the forensic audit that was underway and did not want to pass comprehensive election reform legislation until the audit was complete. Townsend said if they passed reform before the audit was complete, the motivation to pass any meaningful reform or overturn the results of the 2020 election based on her anticipated results from the audit. When Townsend's GOP colleagues refused to wait, Townsend threw what she herself described as a "temper tantrum," and voted to defeat the proposal while urging her followers to target Ugenti-Rita. Ugenti-Rita was booed off the stage while Trump supporters at the rally heckled her from the crowd asking why she "killed Senator Kelly Townsend's election integrity bills in the Senate." Ducey, Bowers, Ugenti-Rita, and election workers were not the first examples of targeting and harassment directed and led by Townsend when someone publicly disagrees with her. Citizen Patrick Mannion reported to the Arizona Attorney General that Townsend contacted his employer and attempted to get him fired after he disagreed with her on social media.

Two months following her defeat of the election reform packages, Townsend leveraged her power with her budget vote to stall finalizing a budget as part of an effort to pressure GOP colleagues into creating a special legislative panel to review the results of the audit being conducted by the Senate of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County that she had championed.

The following month in July 2021, Townsend threatened the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in a video interview with Jordan Conradson from the Gateway Pundit, that it was their "come to Jesus moment," and that if they did not come forward to work with her and her associates on election integrity issues, they could be indicted or recalled.

In September 2021, Townsend planned to attend a national Convention with legislators in other states, to discuss improving elections. According to reports, it is a rarity to hold a national convention with legislators and prior to Townsend hosting an Article V convention, holding a national convention or discussions with other state legislators is an exception to the norm.

In February 2022, Townsend proposed legislation requiring monthly reviews of the electoral roll and the prompt removal of felons from them, as well as prohibition of same-day voter registrations. Also in February 2022, Government Committee Chairwoman Kelly Townsend, said as part of a failed attempt to ban voting machines, said that a return to the voting practices of “our parents” would improve the system. In March 2022 she issued a subpoena to Maricopa County to produce election data previously subpoenaed by the Arizona Attorney General.

In March 2022, Townsend issued additional subpoenas to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and publicly accused them of obstruction.

In May 2022, after a Senate presentation by True the Vote, an organization which attorney Sidney Powell served on the advisory board, Townsend called on supporters to monitor ballot drop boxes used for early voting in the 2022 elections for indications of electoral fraud. In June 2022, Townsend received an FBI subpoena for emails and text messages relating to the Arizona Senate's examination of electoral fraud issues.

In July 2022, Townsend told the Washington Post in an interview that she had one or two phone calls with Giuliani in December 2020 but no longer has the phone on which those calls were made. She said she has described the nature of the calls to the FBI.

On August 4, 2022, Townsend led a group that protested the election at the Pinal County Supervisors meeting criticizing Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer for his stance and threatening to go to court to stop the County from certifying the results of the 2022 primary election. At the meeting Townsend told the Pinal County Board of Supervisors they needed halt certification and re-run the 2022 primary election citing continued claims of election malfeasance and chain of custody issues. Alternatively, the board opted to fire and replace the Pinal County elections director with Geraldine Roll, who resigned in June 2023 alleging she was not protected from political attacks led by Townsend and her associates.

Townsend filed a lawsuit for an injunction to halt the Pinal County ballot count which was denied on August 12, 2022.

In November 2022, Townsend issued a subpoena for midterm election administration records in Maricopa County which the County rejected.

Opposition Toward Former House Speaker Rusty Bowers

In 2019, Townsend recognized the effect of inciting a crowd toward a fellow lawmaker, "When someone of authority incites mental warfare or otherwise, those out in the community who may or may not be stable will take that to heart and do it, and maybe take it to another level," she said."

Beginning in November 2020, Townsend actively called for the removal of Rusty Bowers from office after he refused to bring the legislature into session to vote to send Trump electors to Congress for the 2020 election. In December 2020, Townsend tweeted the home address and phone number of Rusty Bowers, which prompted her support groups to protest outside his home. The tweet was later deleted. Townsend stated she had a donor willing to pay $500K to support the recall. America Restored, a group Townsend is closely allied with, funded the attempted recall. When the recall effort failed, Townsend solicited David Farnsworth, with whom she had worked with on DCS and child sex trafficking issues, to run against Bowers in the 2022 midterms, reporting that she could not stand serving with Bowers any further.

On December 4, 2020, when Townsend insisted the State send alternate electors as part of a bid to overturn the election, Bowers rejected such a proposal. Townsend alleged Bowers did not understand constitutional law, and was quoted as tweeting, "It is imperative that Arizona's legislators use our Article 2 power and choose the electors after everything we have seen here," Townsend wrote on Twitter in the afternoon. "I do not want to go down in history as doing nothing about it."

History of Child Welfare System Activism and Judiciary Conflict

In 2015, Townsend led a group of parents aggrieved by the child welfare system which they allege wrongfully removed their children from the home. In 2017, Townsend sponsored a bill to prohibit child welfare workers from lying in hearings or withholding exculpatory evidence. Townsend spoke out defending anti-vax parents whose child with a fever was removed based on allegations of medical neglect.

In 2019, Judge Timothy Ryan ordered Townsend removed from his court as she publicly criticized the Court's decision regarding a child welfare case and rules surrounding the confidentiality of CPS hearings designed to protect the child. While challenging the Judge's decision to remove her, Townsend insisted Judge Ryan put in writing why he was ordering her removal from his courtroom and he informed her he would note it in the record. After being removed for violating the courts order not to discuss confidential hearings with the press, Townsend spoke out publicly against Judge Ryan, accusing him publicly of targeting her.

Moms for Liberty and School Board Related Protests and Activism

Throughout her term in office, Townsend closely aligns with and is supported by the group Purple for Parents, founded by Townsend and her 2020 running mate Forest Moriarty. The group was formed in opposition to the teachers Red for Ed movement, which Townsend alleges referred to her an "idiot" and a "fruitcake." Purple for Parents proceeded Moms for Liberty which Townsend joined when it began in Maricopa County in 2020.

Legislation aligned with the groups includes a bill Townsend sponsored in 2018 requiring the AG to investigate any time House members or Senators believe a school district staff or board member may have violated state law and, if a violation is found, requires withholding of a portion of state funding. Also, in 2018, Townsend supported protestors at a rally outside a school for a student who stated he was bullied for wearing Trump attire. The following year, she sponsored legislation to stop what she described as potential political influence efforts in the classroom.

In 2021, Townsend supported activists active in the election denial movement to take control of school board meetings related to COVID-19 restrictions and mask mandates. Later, in early 2022, she sponsored a bill defunding the Arizona School Boards Association, alleging the association engages in partisan lobbying and did not renounce its National Association when it took sides in political debate.

Patriot Party leader Steve Daniels, who acted as security for Townsend, was arrested outside a school board meeting during a protest they attended, in which as a sitting Senator requested the police officer's body cam footage defending Daniels. Townsend led a school board protest in Vail, Arizona, in which board members fled for their safety while Townsend, Daniels, and parents claimed they elected themselves and took over the meeting.

In January 2022, Townsend sponsored a bill to ban school districts from paying association dues with taxpayer funds. In 2022, she alleged LGBTQ sensitivity training in public schools is grooming and pre-sexualization that warrants intervention by lawmakers.

Ballot Drop Box Monitoring and Voter Intimidation Allegations

Townsend encouraged "vigilantes" to stake out ballot drop boxes and obtain license plates of votes after a presentation by True the Vote alleging ballot boxes were illegally stuffed with fraudulent votes, prompting concerns of voter intimidation. A Federal Judge did not agree such activity met the threshold of voter intimidation.

COVID-19 Mask Protest

Townsend opposed mask mandates and vowed not to wear a mask while working at the Arizona Capitol. Townsend also opposed mask use in schools and led anti-mask protests at school board meetings.

Citizen Alleged Retaliation for Social Media Criticism

Citizen Patrick Mannion reported to the Arizona Attorney General that when he criticized Townsend on social media, she contacted his employer and attempted to get him fired.

ALEC and Article V Convention Activism

Townsend served as a Chairperson for ALEC's Article V agenda and has been a staunch supporter of holding a constitutional convention to amend the constitution to mandate a balanced budget amendment.

Governor Ducey Covid-19 Lockdown Protest

Townsend and Trickovic led an organized effort in opposition the Covid-19 lockdown orders issued by Arizona Governor Ducey.

Arizona House of Representatives

In 2014, Townsend along with fellow Arizona lawmakers attended the Bundy standoff. Townsend characterized the Federal government's response as reminiscent of Tiananmen Square. She subsequently won both the Republican Party primary and the general election, both with 39 percent of the vote.

In 2018 Townsend criticized semi-nude female women's rights activists, abortion and the "culture of death", the Arizona child welfare system, the furry community and opposed increased funding for education. That year she won the general election with 35.72 percent of the vote.

In 2019 she compared mandatory vaccination to Communism and the Holocaust, supported high school students who alleged they had been prevented from wearing "Make America Great Again" clothing and was accused of retaliation by a Facebook user who posted content critical of her.

She visited the Mexico-United States border in 2020 with Arizona Patriot group leaders that were subsequently banned from the House by Rusty Bowers.

Arizona Senate

During her Senate tenure Townsend renewed her criticism of COVID-19 vaccines, comparing public service announcements on state highways to Communist Chinese propaganda and comparing those that complain about the unvaccinated to Nazis. She supported parents protesting against local school boards, arguing that the National School Board Association and Federal Bureau of Investigation were attacking parents' rights. In 2022 she sponsored bills that would prohibit school districts from using tax dollars to pay their School Board Association membership dues and that would allow parents to use criminal and civil process for a teacher's violation of a parent's right to direct the education of his or her child. Townsend also supported legislation that would prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in schools. According to the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights she participates in social media groups that identify with sovereign citizen ideology as well as other far-right ideologies.

Antisemitism Controversy with the Anti Defamation League

The Anti Defamation League urged Townsend to retract a post of a Nazi symbol she posted to social media as a political statement regarding mask use.

Public Comment on Trump and Stormy Daniels Controversy

Townsend, who introduced former President Donald Trump to Arizona politics before he ran for office, faced a recall effort by a local resident after she defended Trump as the allegations that Trump had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels became public, saying, "women who are acting in 'moral defiance' have 'no defense' if they are sexually harassed or raped."

McCain history and Agenda 21

Townsend is an anti-Agenda 21 activist who demanded an apology from former Congressman John McCain after he called Tea Partiers and anti-agenda 21 activists "hobbits."

Patriot Party Movement of Arizona

By 2018, Townsend's activism with the Arizona Tea Party later merged into collaboration with the Patriot Movement of Arizona in which Townsend led and promoted the group speaking at protests, events, and rallies, while encouraging members to stand up and fight for their rights and Country.

Anti Abortion Activism

In 2005, Townsend wrote a book Christ Centered Childbirth, and has been a longstanding anti-abortion activist.

In 2009, three years before taking office, Townsend was an activist in the Walk for Life marches whose primary goal was to overturn Roe v. Wade. In 2019, Townsend made headlines posting a photo of herself with a teardrop symbol in support of an anti-abortion bill alleging that allowing aborted babies to die after an abortion is infanticide.

Failed Congressional Bid and Defeat in 2022 State Senate Primary

In 2022, Townsend said she gave up the Congress race and a much coveted Trump endorsement to fight Wendy Rogers for an Arizona Senate seat. Townsend lost the August 2022 District 7 State Senate primary to Rogers by a 59.7% to 40.3% margin.

Personal

Townsend was married to pilot Daniel Townsend, who died in a helicopter crash in 2009. She has three adult children.

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68. "Read GQP Tyranny Fails on Tie Vote; QAnon Queen Kelly Townsend Calls on Trump Terrorists to Take Action now from Blog for Arizona for Politics from a Liberal Viewpoint". 9 February 2021.
69. "Group led by 'Kraken' lawyer Sidney Powell hired the firm recounting AZ's election to probe a PA election". 24 May 2021.
70. "Donald Trump Slams Bret Baier over Fox News' Arizona Vote Audit Coverage". Newsweek. 18 July 2021.
71. https://www.azmirror.com/2021/07/26/after-being-booed-at-trump-rally-ugenti-rita-criticizes-the-senates-election-audit/
72. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/09/10/audit-supporter-threatens-ugenti-rita/
73. https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2021/04/22/townsend-temper-tantrum-stalls-ugenti-ritas-election-integrity-bill/
74. https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/state/state-senator-threatened-over-election-audit-report/article_6e5e0e72-1582-11ec-979a-4312de81669d.html
75. https://www.pinalcentral.com/politics/gop-state-lawmaker-who-no-longer-supports-election-audit-threatened/article_cd6d3393-a81e-5405-8c2a-15bd7250f64a.html
76. https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2021/04/22/townsend-temper-tantrum-stalls-ugenti-ritas-election-integrity-bill/
77. https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2021-04-22/gop-arizona-state-senator-rejects-controversial-voting-bill-pending-election-audit
78. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/22/politics/arizona-mail-in-voting-bill/index.html
79. https://news.yahoo.com/lone-arizona-republican-votes-no-195700553.html
80. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2021/04/22/arizona-voter-suppression-bill-dead-kelly-townsend-killed-it/7343780002/
81. https://www.pinalcentral.com/politics/gop-state-lawmaker-who-no-longer-supports-election-audit-threatened/article_cd6d3393-a81e-5405-8c2a-15bd7250f64a.html
82. https://www.salon.com/2021/07/27/republican-state-senator-doubles-down-on-arizona-audit-critique-after-being-booed-at-trump-rally/
83. https://tucson.com/news/state-regional/gop-infighting-kills-two-arizona-election-bills-for-now/article_bb67a25a-d8fb-11eb-885f-6b5be1f29944.html
84. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2019/05/29/kelly-townsend-crossed-line-when-she-contacted-critics-employer/1280118001/
85. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/05/29/rep-kelly-townsend-contacted-critic-patrick-mannion-employer-over-his-facebook-post/1239665001/
86. https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ducey-gives-up-emergency-powers-in-deal-to-pass-budget-and-tax-cut/article_f451eb5a-d434-11eb-8c31-eb3b8bcac446.html
87. "Townsend issued election subpoena because she was 'tired of waiting' for the AG to act".
88. BlueMeanie, A. Z. (February 9, 2021). "GQP Tyranny Fails On Tie Vote; QAnon Queen Kelly Townsend Calls On Trump Terrorists To Take Action". Blog for Arizona.
89. ^ https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/06/03/some-lawmakers-want-to-eliminate-voting-machines/
90. "Republican lawmakers move to clean up voter rolls". 11 February 2022.
91. "GOP bills to restrict some voter registrations clear Senate committee". 8 March 2022.
92. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/02/17/voting-machines-have-been-used-in-arizona-since-1881-but-a-gop-bill-would-bar-them/
93. "Supers chair blasts Townsend on election info request". 22 March 2022.
94. https://www.azfamily.com/2022/03/23/maricopa-county-board-supervisors-chairman-blasts-latest-subpoena-over-2020-elections/
95. "Arizona GOP lawmaker calls on 'vigilantes' to film & follow voters to combat unproven 'ballot mules'".
96. "Townsend wants 'vigilantes' to observe election drop boxes". June 2022.
97. MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (June 30, 2022). "The FBI subpoenaed Karen Fann and Kelly Townsend for information on the January 6 insurrection". Arizona Mirror.
98. "Arizona fake-electors subpoenas show breadth of DOJ Jan. 6 probe". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
99. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/08/04/pinal-county-elections-mess-inexcusable-and-explainable/10239541002/
100. https://apnews.com/article/arizona-elections-director-quits-d77c829c37eb2cc5b56079e64091c308
101. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/08/04/pinal-county-elections-mess-inexcusable-and-explainable/10239541002/
102. https://thepublicsradio.org/article/arizona-county-replaces-elections-boss-after-ballot-problems
103. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2022/08/04/pinal-county-elections-officer-fired-after-election-day-ballot-fiasco/
104. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/08/22/pinal-countys-election-meltdown-was-years-in-the-making/
105. "The Arizona Republic".
106. https://kjzz.org/content/1828054/az-sen-townsend-subpoenas-election-info-maricopa-county-despite-it-being-available
107. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/03/14/rep-kelly-townsend-says-shes-target-redfored-mental-warfare-martin-quezada-cyberbullying/3162953002/
108. "Video: Rusty Bowers Recalls Harassment After Rejecting 2020 Fraud Claims". The New York Times. 22 June 2022.
109. "Recall effort against Arizona House speaker Rusty Bowers fails".
110. Metzger, Bryan. "I spent two and a half hours with David Farnsworth, the Trump-backed candidate who defeated January 6 committee witness Rusty Bowers. Here's what I learned about religion, 'conspiracy facts,' and the modern Republican party". Business Insider.
111. "Rusty Bowers, Arizona House speaker who testified at Jan. 6 hearing, loses GOP primary for state Senate seat". www.cbsnews.com. 3 August 2022.
112. "DCS Audit Damaging, Children Removed Without Guidance". Arizona Daily Independent. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
113. Times, Camryn Sanchez Arizona Capitol (2022-09-30). "Dept. Of Child Safety under fire | Arizona Capitol Times". Retrieved 2023-07-19.
114. Hunnicutt, Loretta (2017-04-18). "Republican Lawmakers Block Townsend Amendments To Protect Parents From Dishonest DCS Workers". Arizona Daily Independent. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
115. Leon, Julia (2019-04-07). "Arizona lawmaker wants to make sure police can't raid homes for unvaccinated children again". KVOA. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
116. https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/arizona-child-welfare/2019/04/11/rep-kelly-townsend-child-welfare-law-forced-removal-az-tot/3430538002/
117. "Media, lawmaker booted from court hearing; questions surround DCS case of Chandler family with feverish child". The Republic | azcentral.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
118. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-child-welfare/2019/05/23/rep-kelly-townsend-questions-dcs-judicial-system-after-privacy-ruling/1198952001/
119. "Opponents of the teacher walkout speak out".
120. "Forest Moriarty Pledges to Support Congressional Term Limits". 7 January 2020.
121. "#RedForEd a year later: How the education debate embraced team colors".
122. https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/08/05/here-are-five-of-alecs-most-far-right-members/
123. "Kelly Townsend".
124. ^ "Protesters rally for First Amendment rights outside Perry High School in Gilbert".
125. "Kelly Townsend bill banning politics in the classroom might be back | Integrity Garage Doors of Phoenix - Tim Canfield owner".
126. "Townsend bill addresses political speech and the classroom". 15 April 2019.
127. ^ "Protesting masks and racism education, the 'patriots' take on Arizona's school boards". 27 May 2021.
128. "Republican lawmakers target Arizona school boards group". Associated Press. 19 January 2022.
129. Laura Meckler (2022-05-22) . "National school board group says it wrongly took sides in political debate". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
130. "Patriot Party member arrested at Chandler school board meeting".
131. "Republican lawmakers target Arizona school boards group". AP News. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
132. "Teachers' Union Advocate Accuses Arizona Parents of Being "Drama Queens" for Wanting Transparency". 11 April 2022.
133. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/10/arizona-ballot-drop-box-vigilantes
134. https://kjzz.org/content/1784422/townsend-encourages-vigilantes-monitor-ballot-drop-boxes-denies-its-intimidation
135. https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/kelly-townsend-encourages-vigilantes-camp-outside-ballot-drop-off-boxes-is-that-legal/75-3395bf65-7624-4ee5-a447-241b05c9da1f
136. https://www.azmirror.com/2022/05/31/gop-lawmaker-calls-on-vigilantes-to-film-and-follow-voters-to-combat-unproven-ballot-mules/
137. https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-arizona-denies-injunction-block-group-gathering-ballot/story?id=92315573
138. Services, Howard Fischer Capitol Media (23 December 2020). "Arizona lawmaker vows to ignore mask mandate at state Capitol". Arizona Daily Star.
139. Montini, E. J. "State Sen. Kelly Townsend plans to spew unmasked exhaust at the Capitol". The Arizona Republic.
140. "Arizona legislators take aim at mask mandates in schools".
141. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2019/05/29/kelly-townsend-crossed-line-when-she-contacted-critics-employer/1280118001/
142. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/05/29/rep-kelly-townsend-contacted-critic-patrick-mannion-employer-over-his-facebook-post/1239665001/
143. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2017/09/09/article-v-constitutional-convention-planners-convene-in-arizona/618218001/
144. https://alec.org/article/history-was-made-in-phoenix-this-month/
145. https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3761007/phoenix-central-performs-color-guard-honors-article-v-planning-convention
146. "Backlash over Ducey's stay-at-home order leads to recall effort". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
147. "Arizona Rep. Kelly Townsend is outraged by Gov. Doug Ducey's plan to save lives".
148. "Lawmaker can't stop talking about life-changing weekend at Nevada ranch | Arizona Capitol Times". 16 April 2014.
149. "Republican Legislators Caravan to the Bundy Ranch".
150. "Maricopa County Final Report" (PDF).
151. "General Election Final Report" (PDF).
152. "Lawmaker: Women acting in 'moral defiance' have 'no defense' if raped". 23 January 2018.
153. "Roberts: Arizona lawmaker blames culture, not guns, for mass shootings". 22 February 2018.
154. "Townsend Calls for DCS Overhaul as Court Agrees to Hear Public Records Case". 3 September 2020.
155. "Media, lawmaker booted from court hearing; questions surround DCS case of Chandler family with feverish child".
156. "Rep. Kelly Townsend questions DCS, judicial system after privacy ruling | Integrity Garage Doors of Phoenix - Tim Canfield owner".
157. "Arizona GOP lawmaker asks Twitter what furry is, gets a Fursona from #RedforEd supporter".
158. "Arizona lawmaker suggests lawsuit over teacher walkout, lashes out at constituent". azcentral. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
159. "Election Results: Midterms 2018". PinalCentral.com.
160. Whitman, Elizabeth. "Arizona Lawmaker Kelly Townsend Compares Vaccines to Communism". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
161. "State Rep. Kelly Townsend compares mandatory vaccinations to forced number tattoos".
162. "Arizona Rep. Kelly Townsend contacted man's employer after he criticized her on Facebook".
163. Kimbel-Sannit, Arren (2020-02-19). "Townsend files ethics complaints over squabble against two Dem lawmakers | Arizona Capitol Times". Retrieved 2023-07-19.
164. "Hispanic churches file federal lawsuit against anti-immigrant Arizona 'patriot' groups". 4 June 2019.
165. "Arizona state Sen. Kelly Townsend says COVID-19 vaccine messages on state highways are like 'Communist China'".
166. "Kelly Townsend likened COVID vaccines to the Holocaust, tweeted a swastika and told a Jewish group who complained to 'learn your history'". 14 September 2021.
167. "Protesting masks and racism education, the 'patriots' take on Arizona's school boards". 27 May 2021.
168. "Taxpayers' dollars should not be used against parents". 19 January 2022.
169. "Arizona School Boards Association Withdraws from National School Boards Association". 18 February 2022.
170. "Lawmakers target AZ school board group". 19 January 2022.
171. "Proposal adds 'teeth' to parents' bill of rights, paving the way for lawsuits against teachers". 14 February 2022.
172. "Constitutional ban on 'critical race theory' in AZ schools, universities is one vote away from the November ballot". 30 March 2022.
173. "Chapter 3: Profiles in Far-Right Mainstreaming ⋆ Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights".
174. "A dozen Arizona GOP lawmakers follow at least 1 far-right Facebook group".
175. "This Arizona Lawmaker Displayed the Nazi Flag on Twitter, but Hates Anti-Semites".
176. Flaherty, Joseph. "Stormy Daniels Recruited to Run Against Arizona Governor and Lawmaker". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
177. "Why Tea Partiers Are Scared of Hobbits".
178. "How a group that began by sharing racist memes, violent fantasies on Facebook became a force in Arizona politics". www.azcentral.com. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
179. Townsend, Kelly (July 2005). Christ Centered Childbirth. Four Winds Productions. ISBN 0976950502.
180. https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/08/05/here-are-five-of-alecs-most-far-right-members/
181. "Read Kelly Townsend, desperately seeking attention now from Blog for Arizona for Politics from a Liberal Viewpoint". 31 May 2019.
182. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2019/03/12/kelly-townsend-pro-choice-abortion/3143193002/
183. "How a fight over Trump's endorsement, white nationalist online trolls, and a Holocaust denier has upended an Arizona GOP state Senate primary". Business Insider.
184. "After dropping congressional bid, Kelly Townsend will challenge Wendy Rogers". 8 March 2022.
185. "Arizona State Senate 7th District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via nytimes.com.
186. Conrad, Chris (2009-10-14). "Medford pilot killed in crash loved flying". Mail Tribune. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
187. Townsend, Kelly (2010-07-31). "Kelly Townsend". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved 2022-10-05.

External links

• Official campaign website
• Official page at the Arizona State Legislature
• Profile at Vote Smart

• 1968 births
• Living people
• Arizona State University alumni
• Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives
• Politicians from Mesa, Arizona
• Southern Oregon University alumni
• Women state legislators in Arizona
• 21st-century American politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• American conspiracy theorists
• QAnon